A Heart Frozen Like Snow
by SincerelyShania
Summary: Suffering a constant barrage of military attacks in Palumpolum, Snow Villiers and his l'cie comrades take temporary cover at the home of Hope's father. As the self-proclaimed hero lies in a borrowed bed, wounded from the ongoing struggle, an unlikely visitor stops by his room to offer an apology, in turn triggering yet another possibly life-changing event for each of them.


The four comrades were desperate to escape the horrors of their new lives, even temporarily, and in this fight for survival, Snow, Lightning, Fang, and Hope found themselves at the Estheim household, battered, bruised, and worse-for-wear, but alive nonetheless. It was here, at the home once shared by Hope, his father, and his now deceased mother, that reality finally caught up to them as they attempted to take a moment's reprieve.

All Lightning decided to do was apologize for her misplaced anger and disbelief, but somehow, this innocent endeavor left them in the same bed, the wounded leader of NORA—a gang initially formed to serve and protect the citizens of their world of Cocoon—exploring the body that belonged to the usually icy and standoffish sister of his fiancée, Serah.

As Snow trailed his fingertips across her skin, the thought dawned on him: it was not Lightning's touch that felt cold-it was his own. The fists of a hero... Were they supposed to lack burning passion? The desire he felt in the moment—the hunger for relief that had manifested in the pit of his stomach—was nothing more than a frosty, primal void that took root within his heart somewhere along their journey.

"Serah..." the hero thought to himself, his hand still steadily exploring Lightning's scarred but soft skin. "You ignite a fire in me, for sure, but with all that has gone on, I've been feeling consumed by flames-flames that were born from the fate of l'cie, the only bond we share together now that seems to make sense in all of this madness. Your sister, Lightning, she... Her presence puts out the fire, even if only for a little while; she is calculating, focused, cold... And I don't know if I can get through this without the relief that she can give me. I'm so sorry, Serah. I guess this is who your hero truly is: a broken excuse for a man trying to reclaim his charred existence by sealing it in ice."

Where were the tears as Snow trailed his lips down his prospective sister-in-law's modest but firm chest? Where was the overwhelming regret of discovering the pleasures of another women's body while the one he had chosen to be at his side forever is locked away in a prison of crystal? Maybe they were burnt away with everything else as the brand he bore on his arm caught fire to all that he once knew.

There was no guarantee for a tomorrow. Snow and his fellow l'cie were robbed of their futures, and even at present, the group had no way of predicting when any of them would completely succumb to the fal'cie's curse and transform into an anguished, hollow shell of a human, better known as a Cei'th, for eternity. Surely, death would be a more favorable option.

With no clue as to what Focus-what duty to fulfill-they were given by the Pulse fal'cie who branded them, only being offered vague glimpses of a much larger picture, the l'cie decided to fight for their own fates; however, the grim reality of the situation always followed closely behind, as if it were the shadows at their feet as they walked beneath the sun. It was because of this that the NORA leader could not escape the clutches of temptation. After all, how do you fight when it seems that there is nothing left to fight for? Telling oneself that it is going to turn out alright in the end does not morph reality into the linear, peaceful road that people wish to take in life.

No, when tensions become too much to bear, a person either collapses under the weight of the truth or seeks out a way to release the pressure building up inside. Snow wanted to be the hero; he still wanted to save his princess, but in the moment, it was all he could do to suppress his most primitive desires as his skin collided with Lightning's. With every graze of her fingertips against him as he explored each dip and surface of her body, a numbness slowly set in that could save him from himself, at least for now.

The heart of a hero was becoming cold like snow.

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A/N: Hello, everyone! I know this chapter is set up kind of awkwardly and may seem rushed, but I had a vision and I'm sticking with it! This will, by no means, be a long story, but I plan to delve into the current situation much more in an upcoming chapter or two. Thank you for taking the time to read the first installment of "A Heart Frozen Like Snow"! I hope that you enjoyed the prologue!


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